The Fire Of Thine Eyes
by Eevee Tofu
Summary: I gave in and did precisely what I promised myself I would never, ever do again. Only this time, it's a little bit different. Kid x MALE OC. Oh yes I di-id.
1. Chapter 1

Alright. I know. **I know.** I said I was done with OCxCanon shit. But I got this stupid idea and it won't leave me alone.

That being said, let me explain that **this fic is 100% guilty-pleasure, retarded-as-fuck, just-an-excuse-to-shove-Kid-in-bed-with-another-hot-guy.** I know my characters are probably complete Mary Sues and the plot in this whole thing is contrived and stupid and less believable than the friggin' Twilight series. **Yes, I am fully aware of this.** Also, I just broke my T key... No, wait, I fixed it. Yay. c:

Anyway, if you're still reading this, you've probably already guessed that I'm writing this story purely for the purposes of satisfying my own inner fangirly fantasies, so I'm not really expecting any wonderful reviews - or any reviews at all, really, except for the occasional flame rant. However, in the words of Jimmy Urine, "There is nothing you can do that I have not already done to myself," so basically, if you do leave a flame review, I will probably laugh at it and then point out something you forgot to bitch about.

**Blah blah warnings blah.** This story will eventually contain yaoi/BL/shonen-ai, which, for those of you unfamiliar with the term, means that two guys are gonna be gettin' it on at some point. If you are uncomfortable with hot man-on-man action, I invite you to press the "back" button on your browser. For those of you still reading, I applaud you. This is liek teh longest author's note evar omgbbq i can has cheezburger.

**- x - x - x - x - x -**

Jaxen Dellour was known to the DWMA staff as "the weapon-maestre prodigy." To the rest of the students, he was just "that new kid with two weapons." To himself, he was simply confused. Less than a week ago he'd met the twins Ryeli and Lola, learned that they were his half-sisters, discovered that they were weapons, and used them both to save his own life in a very intense confrontation. And now here he was, striding through the halls of the Death Weapon Maestre Academy, knowing next to nothing about Kishins and soul-collecting and death scythes and such. All that he knew was that, apparently, the Grim Reaper himself had requested that Jaxen, Ryeli, and Lola come study at his school, and that the three of them were amazingly skilled for having never been trained.

The boy ran a hand through his neatly-parted cinnamon hair, sighing wearily. Indigo eyes glared down at the schedule on the paper he held in his other hand.

"What's the classroom we're looking for?" a small voice inquired. Jaxen turned round to face his twin sisters. He wasn't sure which of them had spoken, as both girls were looking expectantly at him, with their heads tilted slightly. They were nearly identical, but Jaxen had learned how to tell them apart - Lola's right eye was green, and her left eye was grey. Ryeli's eyes were the same colors, only switched.

"Orion," he replied, glancing down at the paper once more. "Really hope this... Professor Walbeck... isn't mad that we're late. I mean, we _did_ have to go see the counselor first..."

The twins nodded, their fluffy red ponytails bobbing in unison.

Jaxen turned back to face the direction in which he was walking, giving a cursory glance to each door he passed.

"Wait," two soft voices spoke, a small hand grasping each of the boy's. Jaxen looked down at the twins, who were only about as tall as his mid-torso. "You walked right past it," they giggled together, and pulled him back to one of the doors.

"Yeah, well..." He shrugged. "Whatever. Let's go in." He pushed the door open and stepped into the classroom. Immediately, a very frantic voice reached his ears.

"I absolutely cannot do this project!" A young man, who appeared to be about Jaxen's age, stood before the teacher's desk, looking quite distressed. "I simply _must_ wield two weapons, one in each hand; I can't possibly use only one, that would unbalance my symmetry!" His jaw quivered as he grasped at his jet-black hair, which Jaxen noted had three curious white stripes on one side. "None of the other students in this class have two weapons... This is impossible... I just can't...!"

The harried instructor glanced over at Jaxen and the twins, and sighed grumpily. "You three must be Jaxen, Lola, and Ryeli Dellour," she said, her voice holding a distinct tone of boredom.

Bright yellow, hawk-like eyes turned to the three newcomers, and his expression immediately changed to one of wonder and amazement. He gazed in disbelief at the twins before striding over to the trio and extending a hand to Jaxen.

"Come. You will be my partner for this project."

"Uh, I-"

"Great! Follow me." The strange boy grabbed Jaxen's hand and dragged him to the pew-like desks, Ryeli and Lola following in a gait that made them seem to float along the floor. He took a seat next to two (incredibly gorgeous, Jaxen noted) blonde girls.

"Alright, fine." Professor Walbeck grunted. "All of you, get started on your preliminary exercises for this project."

"Allow me to introduce myself," the odd boy said. "I am Death the Kid. These are my weapon partners, Elizabeth and Patricia Thompson - Liz and Patty, for short."

"Hiya!" The shorter of the two grinned widely and waved enthusiastically. "I'm Patty!"

The taller smiled lazily, merely raising a hand in greeting. "And obviously I'm Liz."

"Hee hee! We're guns!" Patty's azure eyes sparkled with glee. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"Y-yeah," Jaxen stuttered, his eyes continuing to drift toward cleavage. "Uh..." He cleared his throat. "Name's Jaxen. Nice to meet you. These two here are my little sisters, Lola and Ryeli."

"Hello," the two said in unison, squeezing past Jaxen to bow slightly to the other three.

Death the Kid simply gleamed with fascination. "The two of you are exactly symmetrical," he gushed. "Precisely the same height and hairstyle... Even your facial expressions are mirrored perfectly by each other...!"

Ryeli and Lola giggled, and Jaxen swore he could see hearts in Kid's eyes.

"I assume the two of you are identical weapons, also?" he asked eagerly.

"Actually," both said, grinning. "Ryeli is a katana," Lola said with a giggle. "And Lola," Ryeli chuckled, "is a chain whip."

Kid gaped stupidly. "Buh... But that's illogical," he said, his voice very small. Behind him, Patty burst into raucous laughter, punctuated by the occasional snort.

"Just can't get a break, can you, Kid?" Liz grinned, shaking her head slightly.

**- x - x - x - x - x -**

And that's chapter one! Hooray!

Oh, also - The title of this story comes from the poem, "The Tiger," by William Blake. Figured I oughtta say that.

I gotta tell you, this story changed a lot from my original idea. At first, Jaxen was only supposed to have one weapon - Ryeli, the katana - and they weren't related at all. But the whole thing changed because the way that Kid and Jaxen were originally supposed to meet was really REALLY stupid, so I scrapped it and came up with this idea instead. Also, Ryeli and Lola were both going to be katanas, but I decided that was way too easy and not really interesting enough in terms of how Kid could interact with them.

"Jaxen" is pronounced like "Jackson." "Ryeli" sounds the same as "Riley." I think you can figure "Lola" out for yourself. "Dellour" is kind-of-not-really-French for "golden" (_de l'or_, meaning literally "of the gold," though I'm pretty sure that isn't grammatically accurate, and that _d'or_ is used to describe something made of gold. I'm a little rusty with my French skills, so do forgive me if I'm not correct).

Anyway, if you found this interesting, do stay tuned! If not, well then, uh... Go and... um... drink your... kool-aid or... something.

Meanwhile, I will, uh... sit here and cuddle Stein. c:  
><strong>Stein:<strong> ... excuse me wtf are you doing?  
><strong>Eevee:<strong> I am cuddling you, mister grumpy stitchy pants.  
><strong>Stein:<strong> You do realize I'm going to dissect you for this later, right?  
><strong>Eevee:<strong> TOTALLY WORTH IT!


	2. Chapter 2

**Eevee: **Wa-hey, guys! _(pops in with many scars all over body)_ I got dissected :D It was neat!  
><strong>Stein:<strong> Why are you still alive?  
><strong>Eevee:<strong> Because authors are Mary Sues and are invincible. And extremely attractive. And everyone falls in love with them. _(bats eyes at Stein)_  
><strong>Stein:<strong> _(not affected at all)_  
><strong>Eevee:<strong> Huh. My Mary Sue powers must not be working.  
><strong>Stein:<strong> _(points)_ Look, a monkey.  
><strong>Eevee:<strong> Monkey? Where? _(looks around)_  
><strong>Stein:<strong> _(le flee)_  
><strong>Eevee:<strong> Aw, shoot. Now I have to find another character to annoy.

**- x - x - x - x - x -**

The next day, Jaxen got to class before it actually started, seeing as he didn't have to speak with the counselor this time. He took his seat next to Kid, whose attention was focused on the book in his hand.

"Morning, Jaxen," Liz said with what appeared to be a flirty smile. The boy waved a little awkwardly.

"Hi girls!" Patty beamed over at the twins, who both smiled in response.

"Oh, Jaxen." Kid didn't look up from his book. "By the way, the project has to be completed outside of class, so if you'd like to meet us after school, I'll take you to the Death manor. I assume you're staying in one of the student dorm rooms; they don't offer much space for dealing with soul wavelengths." He placed a bookmark on the page he was reading and closed the book, finally looking up at the other. His eye twitched. "Your hair," he grumbled. He lifted his hands and parted Jaxen's messy hair, combing the unruly strands into place. "It looked so much better yesterday," he sighed, his fingertips gliding along Jaxen's scalp as he tried to tame the other boy's bedhead.

Jaxen shivered slightly. The touch made his skin crawl pleasantly. For a moment, their eyes met, and Jaxen thought he saw a spark in those golden orbs. It felt as though thousands of tiny snakes were writhing inside of him... "Cut that out," he muttered finally, jerking away from that wondrous touch.

Lola and Ryeli glanced at each other with a knowing grin, as if sharing an inside joke.

**- x -**

The Gallows Mansion definitely lived up to its name. Each room was decorated in a perfectly symmetrical fashion - Jaxen was beginning to understand that this was a quirk of Kid's. The six gathered in what appeared to be a large room, perhaps a dining hall.

"Have any of you ever synchronized soul wavelengths before?" Kid asked of Jaxen and the twins. The three of them shook their heads. "I suppose we ought to practice that first. We'll split into pairs according to gender-"

"Why's that?" Jaxen interrupted, a little disappointed that he wasn't going to be paired with one of the buxom blondes.

Kid turned his gaze on the other boy, his eyes holding that same spark Jaxen had seen earlier in the classroom. "Because soul resonance is easier to perform between two individuals of the same gender. Don't ask me why, but that's how it works. Liz, Patty, you two coach Ryeli and Lola on how to control their soul wavelengths."

"Got it." The sisters nodded, each taking one of the twins. The three pairs separated, one on each end of the long room, and one in the center.

"Close your eyes," Kid instructed, and Jaxen did so. "Now concentrate. Block out everything else and reach deep within yourself. Find your soul's melody and grasp it, become familiar with it."

"What the hell is this crap," Jaxen muttered under his breath. "I have no idea what you mean... soul melody..."

"Hush." Kid took a step closer, his voice quiet yet stern. "Push everything to the back of your mind. You'll understand once you let go of your surroundings."

Jaxen tried to think of nothing at all. He tried to block out the sounds of the world around him. Everything faded into the background... Except for one thing. It was a sound that was difficult to explain, but it had a rhythm to it, almost a musical quality. He concentrated on it, and it grew louder, and more recognizable as a melody.

Kid smiled as he sensed that familiar glow about the other. "Good. Now... Listen for mine." He, too, closed his eyes and released his soul, their glowing auras intersecting.

"Ugh!" Jaxen cringed. "Stop that, they sound terrible together!"

"You need to alter your frequency to harmonize with mine."

"Wha-But I don't know how to do that!"

"Calm down." The young reaper's voice remained as steady as ever. "Your wavelengths are erratic and frenzied. You need to calm yourself and concentrate on my soul."

"Why can't you just alter yours?" Jaxen grumped.

"Because that isn't the point of this exercise. I already know how to do this. You, however, need to learn."

"Fat lot of good that does me if I don't even know what the hell I'm doing."

"If you don't know how to calm your wavelengths," Kid murmured, his face mere inches from Jaxen's, "I'll have to do it _for_ you."

"This is no time to be coming on to me..."

"Quiet. This is a proven method for synchronizing soul frequencies."

"Dude, I'm not like tha-!" Jaxen was silenced as a pair of lips connected with his. He felt his soul's wavelength fluctuate wildly, before it grew calm and fell into harmony with Kid's. A strange warmth filled him, and he realized he had pressed into the other, deepening the kiss. Their souls merged even more, seeming to envelop the two in a tight embrace.

The other two pairs paused as the sight drew their attention. Kid and Jaxen stood locked in each other's arms, sharing a passionate embrace, the glow of their connected souls forming a tiny whirlwind around their feet.

"Hey, sis?" Patty came up behind Liz. "I've never seen two people resonate like that before. Are they okay?"

"That's... really powerful," Liz breathed, awestruck. "I had no idea souls could resonate like that... Especially with Jaxen being so new to this."

The aura around the two boys sparked and expanded, bathing the entire room with its glow. Kid took Jaxen's lower lip gently between his teeth, tugging at it a bit before pulling back and opening his eyes halfway. Jaxen met his gaze, and for one glorious moment, he witnessed the incredible sight of their souls' resonance taking shape in the form of bright light around them.

Suddenly his eyes shot wide open, and the aura around them crackled and fell apart, knocking them both backwards. Jaxen stared in bewilderment at Kid, who looked utterly confused and maybe even a little disheartened.

"Shit..." The brunet looked frantically around the room, breathing heavily as he went into panic mode. "Oh, god... Fucking hell...!" He sped out before anyone even knew what was happening, leaving four confused girls and a rather weary-looking Kid.

"What was _that_ all about?" Liz quirked an eyebrow. "It looked like things were going so well..."

"Denial," Lola and Ryeli answered her. "He's confused," Ryeli said. "Probably in shock," Lola added. "He might even be scared," they both finished.

"Scared? Of what?"

"Himself," Kid answered softly, staring at the door, yet not really looking at it. "His feelings. I felt it when our souls connected. He felt safe in my soul's grasp. He was comfortable. He trusted me. But because I'm not a woman..." For a second, his eyes betrayed just how hurt he felt, but he blinked, and the emotion had vanished. He sighed quietly and regained his cool composure. "Well, I can't say I didn't expect that to happen."

"Oh, Kid...!" Patty launched herself at him and embraced him, sobbing into his shoulder. Kid half-smiled and wrapped his arms around her.

"Don't cry, Patty. You know what that does to me."

The younger Thompson detached herself from him, wailed, and clung to her older sister instead.

"Kid." Two small hands grasped each of his, and he looked down to see Ryeli and Lola at his sides, their mismatched eyes gazing up at him. "Don't despair," Ryeli said. "He'll come around," Lola assured him.

"How can you be sure?"

"Because." The twins smiled. "He trusts you," Lola said with a nod. "He doesn't trust a lot of people," Ryeli admitted. "So he stays close to the few he does trust," Lola continued.

Kid breathed a sigh of relief. "I see."

"But listen." Two sets of odd eyes gleamed dangerously. "If you betray that trust," Ryeli warned; "We will not hesitate to kill you," Lola hissed. For a split second, a dark shadow seemed to loom over them, but as quickly as it had appeared, it vanished, leaving Kid to wonder if he'd simply imagined it.

**- x - x - x - x - x -**

Oh hey look, there's some plot hanging out in here! Isn't that nice. c':

And now, since Stein ran away, I'm going to cuddle Crona.  
><strong>Crona:<strong> Uhh... H-hi?  
><strong>Eevee:<strong> _(cuddle cuddle cuddle)_  
><strong>Ragnarok:<strong> _(punches Eevee in the face)_  
><strong>Eevee:<strong> TOTALLY WORTH IT!


	3. Chapter 3

I'm baaack! And thanks go out to my ONE MEASLY REVIEWER. You get cookies. :D

**- x - x - x - x - x -**

Jaxen lay in bed that night, unable to sleep, just staring up at the ceiling. He couldn't believe he'd actually kissed another guy... Not only that, but it had felt really, seriously, incredibly good... What the hell was wrong with him? He was straight as an arrow; always had been, always would be. And nobody, not even some powerful grim reaper, was going to change that.

**- x -**

He was swimming through darkness, trying to drown out the static in his head. The noise just kept buzzing; persistent, stubborn, frustrating. Jaxen tried to grasp his soul's wavelength, but not even that could overpower the static.

A soft voice spoke clearly over the white noise. "Calm yourself..." A gentle glow drifted toward him, and he recognized the aura's frequency before he even saw the face of the person within it. Their wavelengths connected, and the static faded, replaced by the harmonizing sounds of their souls. The other's face moved closer, as if to kiss him, but Jaxen hesitated for just one second, and their resonance fluctuated and broke apart.

But it wasn't just the conection that broke into pieces. The other's body shattered before him, golden eyes seeming to plead with him as they faded into nothingness. All that remained was a glowing blue orb... His soul.

Jaxen reached out and took it - but the hand wasn't his; the skin was deathly pale and the nails long and dirty. The hand brought the glowing soul to Jaxen's lips and shoved it into his mouth, forcing him to swallow it. He found himself in front of a mirror. His eyes were bloodshot, the irises glowing silver, his teeth yellowed and crooked, his hair long and blond and unkempt... His reflection lifted a hand, holding a disembodied human head by the scalp, and grinned sadistically. Jaxen recognized the head. It was his father's.

He jolted awake, his body trembling and drenched in sweat. Although it had only been a dream, his emotions had been very real indeed... Distress and frustration and fear still lingered in his heart. He didn't want to remember... that. That night. That _thing_ that had killed his father. He wrapped himself in his blankets and curled into a ball, trying to calm himself.

As he drifted back into sleep, his mind conjured an image of deep yellow eyes that gazed into his very core. Gentle hands framed his face, pulling him in to kiss impossibly silky yet perfectly firm lips. Jaxen shivered a little, missing the security that soul instilled in him.

Straight as an arrow, indeed...

Arrows don't fly perfectly straight. They bend and wobble in flight.

**- x - x - x - x - x -**

Hooray for Mythbusters teaching me about arrows! :D

And now it's time for my end-of-chapter cuddlefest.  
><strong>Excalibur:<strong> Fool! What are you doing?  
><strong>Eevee:<strong> Cuddles!  
><strong>Excalibur:<strong> _(smacks with cane)_ Fool! _(strides away)_  
><strong>Eevee:<strong> _(rubs knot on head)_ Okay, dunno if that one was really worth it... _(makes 'The Excalibur Face')_


	4. Chapter 4

Okay, I have now been dissected, punched in the face, and smacked with a cane as a direct result of cuddling. Something's not right here. :l

Onward to victory and more awkwardness!

**- x - x - x - x - x -**

The next morning, Jaxen found Kid in his usual seat in the classroom, engrossed in the same book from before. He sat down and cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Um... Hey, uh... About yesterday..."

"It's fine. It's done," Kid said with a tone of finality.

"... Sorry, what?"

"It's in the past. Over and done with. No use wasting time and energy worrying about it."

"I..." Jaxen was a bit taken aback, as that hadn't been what he was going to say. But Professor Walbeck entered the room at that moment, effectively ending their conversation.

**- x -**

They all met again at the Gallows Manor after classes.

"Do you know why it's important to synchronize your soul wavelength to your weapon's?" Kid asked, to which Jaxen shook his head. The reaper smirked a bit. "Liz?"

"Sure." The elder Thompson transformed into her handgun form, which Jaxen reached up and snatched out of the air. Immediately, a discordant frequency clashed with his soul's wavelength, and the hand holding the gun felt as though he'd submerged it into searing hot water. He yelped and dropped it, and Liz transformed back to her usual human self, chuckling at his reaction.

"There will be times when you will have to use a weapon other than your own partners," Kid explained. "That's the point of this project: to become acquainted with another maestre's weapon - or in our case, weapons - in preparation for such occasions."

Jaxen stood facing Liz, and Kid facing Ryeli. Each pair combined souls and, after a moment of adjusting, had established a stable resonance.

"This is so cool!" Patty exclaimed; Lola nodded a bit in agreement, watching in fascination.

"Alright, now you two join in," Kid instructed. Patty's wavelength joined Liz and Jaxen, and Lola's combined with Kid and Ryeli. It took a bit of concentration for Jaxen to accommodate to two different frequencies, but he managed it.

"Kid, should we transform now?" Liz asked.

"Yes." At his word, the sisters shifted to handgun forms, and Jaxen caught them easily. He turned to look at Kid, who held Lola and Ryeli's weapon forms, with an uncomfortable expression on his face. "This feels so awkward," he whimpered, looking down at the two non-matching weapons in his hands.

**- x -**

Afterwards, the four girls sat and chatted, while Jaxen took Kid aside into an adjoining room.

"Look," he sighed. "What happened last night..."

"I told you to forget about it," Kid muttered, not meeting the other's eyes.

"That's not what I meant." Jaxen took in a breath, drowning his hesitation. "I was wondering whether... we should try it again."

"Really?" The reaper quirked an eyebrow, smirking amusedly. "Were you, now?"

"Well, except for the part where I freaked out and ran away," the brunet chuckled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "I think maybe we should skip that bit..."

"I'll have to agree with you there." Kid released his soul's wavelengths, and Jaxen responded by doing the same. Almost instantly, as if by instinct, Jaxen's soul altered its frequency to harmonize with the other's. "Well, that's impressive," the reaper chuckled. "It seems your soul remembers mine."

"Yeah, like I could forget _that_," Jaxen muttered.

"I guess I don't have to help you along this time, then."

There was silence for a moment.

"You don't... _have_ to." Jaxen tried to sound nonchalant about it.

Kid, however, could see through that facade, thanks to their linked souls. "I suppose that doesn't mean I can't anyway, though," he suggested, taking a step closer to the other.

"Yeah, you could," the brunet said, his voice coming out far more breathless than he'd intended. "If you wanted to..."

"I think I'd like to, actually." Their faces were very close now, their exchanges barely whispers.

"Oh..." Jaxen shivered slightly as he felt the tickle of the other's lashes on his cheek. His hands instinctively lifted to grip Kid's shoulders, as if to anchor himself.

"Heh... Have I rendered you speechless?" the reaper teased gently; his lips brushed over Jaxen's as he spoke.

"... Kind of, yeah."

They stood there in silence, their lips barely connected; it wasn't exactly a kiss, but it wasn't _not_ one, either. Their soul wavelengths pulsed harmoniously through both of their bodies, fueling the ethereal glow that surrounded them.

"What are you so afraid of?" Kid asked softly.

Jaxen's breath hitched. What _was_ he afraid of? "I..." He searched his feelings, yet found nothing there worth such fear. "I don't know." He chuckled a little at how ridiculous he found it, and pressed into the other's kiss, shoving aside his doubts.

Four pairs of eyes watched as their resonance flared, a whirlwind of light awakening at their feet. Kid placed his hands on either side of Jaxen's face, framing his jaw, serving to channel his soul more directly into the other.

"Is that normal?" Ryeli and Lola whispered to Liz.

"I... I've never seen this before," the elder sister murmured in reply. "It's _incredible_."

"If Jaxen was a weapon, I think they would have fused by now," Patty mused. "You know, like how we attach to his arms to do the Death Cannon thing?"

"Patty, if Jaxen was a weapon, he and Kid would be the most powerful team in the history of the DWMA." Liz grinned. "That would definitely be quite the sight."

The twins joined hands and turned to the other two girls. "We should leave," they said quietly.

"Yeah... We'll let 'em be."

The kiss shared between the two had grown deeper, more passionate. Jaxen broke away for a moment to breathe, and Kid took his bottom lip in his mouth, sucking at it lightly, causing the other boy to shudder and let out a soft sound of pure enjoyment. Kid smirked and released his lip, pulling back and allowing his hawk-like eyes to flutter open. Jaxen followed suit, and their gazes met; the resonance sparked and expanded before shrinking and fading.

"Well?" the reaper asked quietly, golden eyes still locked with indigo.

"Yeah, that went much better." Jaxen couldn't help the smile that curled his lips.

Kid frowned slightly. "Your hair is all messed up again," he grumbled, reaching up to fix Jaxen's part.

**- x - x - x - x - x -**

Hooray for resolved tension! These guys are going to get rather interesting indeed.

But there's still the issue of that creepy thing Jaxen dreamed about, and what's with the twins getting all creeptastic earlier? Oh dear, such strange things going on...

And no, Jaxen is _not_ a weapon. No matter how much it would be totally fucking awesome if he was, I am not going to go that route. That would be way too easy. I don't want this story to be so easy to write that I get bored of it.

Also, a little note about Ryeli and Lola. Even though there are times when they _seem_ older, they're really only 12 years old, or thereabouts. (I haven't given them an exact age, but they're no older than 13.) Oh, and I swear I did not consciously plan this - I literally JUST realized that their names begin with L and R, for left and right, and that Jaxen holds Ryeli (the katana) in his right hand and Lola (the chain whip) in his left. I SWEAR TO YOU I DID NOT DO THIS ON PURPOSE. I freaked out so bad when I realized it. My artistic subconscious really kinda scares me sometimes.

I think now would also be a good time for me to mention that I totally see Lola and Ryeli as a couple. They're like Fred and George; I just can't imagine them with anyone else! **Simon says raise your hand if you thought I was going to pair them with Thunder and Fire.** Okay, now everyone with your hand raised, go sit in the corner and cuddle Crona... Ah-ah-ah! Simon didn't say so! DROP AND GIVE ME TWENTY!

Oh, and one more thing. You can follow Death the Kid on Twitter, under the username **gunmaestreDeath**. DO IT. DO IT NOW.


	5. Chapter 5

Hello guys! I'm back again, and frankly a little disappoint with the scarcity of reviews for the last chapter :l As punishment, I'm bringing in more canon characters.

**- x - x - x - x - x -**

"So who are we waiting for here?" Jaxen asked as he kicked a nearby pebble.

Kid leaned back against a tree. "Four other students. They're in the same class as we are, but in a different period. They're going to help us test our abilities using each other's weapons."

"YAA-HOOO!" A sudden shout made Jaxen start, looking around with wary eyes. A young boy with spiked blue hair jumped down out of a nearby tree. "Scared ya, didn't I?" He gave Jaxen a cocky grin.

"Oh, hello, Black Star." Kid didn't seem at all affected by the outburst. "I don't think the two of you have met before... Jaxen, this is Black Star. Black Star, Jaxen."

"Yeah, yeah." The younger boy waved a hand dismissively. "Just some small fry."

Jaxen bristled. "Hey, I'll have you know I was placed in an upper-level class because of my skills, punk!"

"So what? Just 'cause you're way better than the usual newbie maestres doesn't mean you're gonna be a big star. I could kick your ass with one hand tied behind my back."

"You little...!"

"Cool it." Kid placed a hand on Jaxen's shoulder. "He's always like this. You'll get used to it."

A dainty "ahem" brought the brunet's attention to a tall, dark-haired woman, with deep sapphire eyes and a gentle smile. "Black Star, maybe you shouldn't goad him so soon..."

"Pfft. Whatever, Tsubaki." Black Star turned to Kid. "Where's Soul and Maka?"

"I haven't seen either of them yet."

"Alright, I'm here, quit talking about me." Crimson eyes and sharp teeth gleamed. The speaker was another boy, who stood with a slight hunch to his back. A slender girl accompanied him, her dirty blonde hair pulled into pigtails.

"Sorry we're late," she apologized. "_Someone_ couldn't find his left shoe."

"Dunno who you're talking about, Maka," the white-haired boy said nonchalantly. The girl elbowed him in the ribs. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Oh, aren't you the guy from third period?" Maka asked Jaxen, ignoring her partner. "You're new, right? I don't think I've introduced myself. I'm Maka Albarn." She extended a hand in greeting, which Jaxen shook. "Nice to meet you."

"Heh... Likewise." Jaxen smiled genuinely at her friendliness. "Jaxen Dellour. And my sisters, Lola and Ryeli," he added, gesturing to the twins.

"Oh. Yeah. This fool here," Maka jabbed him with her elbow again, "is Soul Eater."

"Hey! That was uncalled-for!" Soul gently massaged his side where Maka's incredibly sharp, pointy elbow had violated him. He glared at her, and she just smiled sweetly.

"Enough chit-chat! Let's get started already!"

"Always itching to kick some ass, aren'tcha, Black Star?" Soul gave him a toothy grin. "Come on, then. Let's do this." He stepped forward, and they fist-bumped.

"Ah, yes, aren't we due for a rematch?" Kid smirked, tossing his head first to the left, and then to the right; his joints cracked loudly and he exhaled the smallest sigh of pleasure at the release of endorphins. "As I recall, there seems to be some dispute over who won the last time..."

"Who's disputing? Obviously _we_ won! You were the one sprawled out like a fish, coughing up blood!" Black Star had begun to hop up and down in his eagerness.

Kid's eye twitched. "That's only because my symmetry was off," he grumbled. "I T.K.O.'ed the both of you long before that happened."

"Yeah yeah, whatever! Let's just settle this!"

"Of course. Girls?" The reaper turned to Ryeli and Lola. "Shall we?"

"Okay~" The twins scurried over to him, each taking one of his hands and shifting to weapon forms. Kid grimaced briefly at how unbalanced he was with two completely different weapons, but he quickly focused himself, forcing the asymmetrical disturbance out of his mind.

Black Star guffawed. "Kid, you look like a wet cat with that sour look on your face!" He turned to Soul. "Come on, we can take him this time!"

"Totally. Let's do it." Soul leapt into the air and shifted form when he was high above Black Star, who held up one hand lazily. The scythe fell right into his hand, and he spun it like a baton before grasping the handle firmly and taking a battle stance.

And then his hands began to smoke.

"Agh! Fuck!" He yelled, dropping the weapon to the ground and shaking his hands, as if they were on fire and he was trying to put it out. "Damn it, Soul! Why can't you do it right?"

"Me?" The scythe resumed human form, coughing up a bit of blood. "Why's it always _my_ fault it doesn't work?"

"Because I'm awesome and awesome people don't FAIL!"

"Double Maka-chop!" Two books simultaneously crashed into Soul's and Black Star's skulls, knocking both of them to the ground. "Seriously, you two are morons..."

"Maka... What did you hit them with?" Tsubaki asked nervously, seeing that both boys were out cold.

"Oh, nothing much. I hit Soul with a dictionary, and Black Star with a copy of _Mortin's Complete Illustrated Tales of Weapon Training_." Maka held up two very thick books. "Light reading, you know..."

Tsubaki gasped. "Black Star!" She rushed over to her maestre and cradled him in her arms. "Speak to me! Are you alright? Is your skull fractured? Oh dear, oh dear...!"

Kid chuckled at this whole situation, rolling his eyes. "Go ahead and tend to him, Tsubaki. We'll try this again another day; we have another month to finish, after all."

"Right..." The dark scythe nodded, and carried her maestre back towards the campus.

Jaxen cleared his throat. "Are... they gonna be okay?"

"Of course." Maka lifted her weapon partner off the ground and slung one of his arms over her shoulders. "They may be idiots, but there's one good thing about that; they have thick skulls..." The brunet watched her curiously, wondering why she seemed to hold so much dislike toward her partner... But he saw something in her eyes change when she turned to look at Soul's unconscious face. "You big buffoon," she said softly, smiling affectionately at him and giving him a gentle noogie on the head.

**- x -**

"All of the maestres here seem to be really close with their weapons," Jaxen said thoughtfully as the six of them walked through the wooded area (Patty kept sneaking up on wild animals and scaring the crap out of them, providing amusement for the others). "At least, the teams I've met so far."

"Really?" Kid smiled. "I'm glad you see that... There is a direct correlation between the bond a maestre shares with his or her weapon, and how powerful they are as a team."

"Makes sense." Jaxen nodded.

"Maka and Soul, for example... They may appear to be completely at odds with each other, but their souls are in constant resonance. They're very close, and it definitely shows when they're in combat. They've successfully performed very advanced techniques that maestre-weapon teams more than half their age have never even _seen_, let alone executed."

The brunet let out a low whistle. "Wow... Never would've guessed that from what I saw earlier."

"Many of the students here are much more than they appear," Kid said, a sly grin curling his lips. "Black Star, as well, will probably surprise you..."

Jaxen scoffed. "That jerk? What's so great about him?"

"He's incredibly strong. He has the ability to channel his soul's wavelength without a weapon, and from what I understand, he's been able to do that since before he joined the Academy."

"Is that hard to do?"

"For the vast majority of maestres, yes. That's the curious thing about weapons, actually... Many weapons can fight without a maestre, by using the partial-transformation technique, which allows them to remain mobile in a human form, yet also dangerous as a weapon. However, aside from hand-to-hand combat, maestres really can't fight without a weapon... Unless they have the ability to channel their soul wavelength without one."

Jaxen was quiet as he absorbed all this new information. "I guess being placed in an upper-level class put me at a disadvantage, huh?" he said, scratching the back of his head. "I mean, I've kinda been thrown into this totally blind... Like, I keep hearing people talking about Kishin eggs and witches and death scythes, and it's like they're speaking another language or something..."

Kid sighed, placing his palm against his forehead in exasperation. "My father can be quite the incredible idiot sometimes... Girls!" he called, getting the attention of the four females. "We're going back to the Manor. Come on."

"Aww, already?" Patty pouted.

"Yes. We have some... _teaching_... to do." He grabbed Jaxen's hand and strode off, the girls following close behind him.

"I wonder if this 'teaching' is gonna involve them eating each other's faces again?" Patty snickered to Liz.

The elder sister watched as the boys began to walk a little closer together. "That's looking very likely at this point."

The two locked eyes, grinning, and each knew exactly what the other was thinking. _Free show! Awesooome!_

**- x - x - x - x - x -**

SHUT UP YOU KNOW THEY TOTALLY WOULD.

also hooray for Kid spewing exposition

And for those of you who don't stalk my deviantART account (It's under "homepage" on my FF profile), there's a lovely pic of Jaxen and Kid and a very sexy trail of drool. Hooray :D


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